I recently left a job of 5 years and accepted a new position which required a relocation. The position before that I held for 7 years but changed jobs when I became a single parent and couldn't spend so much time away from my child anylonger. I wanted to spend my evenings at home with my (then) 10 year old daughter and not someplace repairing networks. This change my goal was originally to relocate to begin with in order to change my daughter's school. Once I made up my mind, everything happened so quickly it amazed me. Found a place to live exactly 1 week before packing the uhaul! I am now 1.6 miles from my daughter's school. Even so, the reality of it all hit me in the middle of the night more than once. Whether the change is voluntary or not, major changes and taking new risks are even more frightening when you are a single parent. I have made a lot of changes in my life and taken unbelievable risks, but this is the first time that I made a major change which also impacted my child. No matter how terrifying or unpleasant, attitude makes (or breaks) the experience. I wish you luck Mike! You can do it!


>As discerning readers have noticed, I have been extremely unhappy with my job. Crappy company, crappy project, crappy boss. This morning I quit. Like most of us I am scared of the unknown but it feels so good to shed this job. It's like a huge weight has been lifted from my shoulders. For longer than I care to remember I have hated that job within two steps out of bed every morning.
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>What's next? No idea. The market is not exactly crawling with FoxPro jobs and that is the only thing I have demonstrable skills for. It's going to be a radical change. But hey, in every catastrophe there is opportunity, right? My two closest coworders said the same thing: this is an opportunity. And I am looking at it that way.
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>My daughters will not be here this weekend so I am going to indulge myself. I am leaving on the 2:48 train downtown and will revisit the Taste of Chicago. After that, the Westin on Michigan Ave. I could use a heavenly bed.